The scrolly part of my laptops mouse no longer has its scrolly function

[cara.mel]

Whats a System Restore?

What will happen if I do this? Wiki didn't explain it in words I understand
will I lose all my new files?

[ell]

What will happen if I do this? Wiki didn't explain it in words I understand
will I lose all my new files?

Nah, it won't get rid of your files. It'll just revert to a previous configuration that it took a snapshot of.

[cara.mel]

Whats a configuration?

[ninwa]

I think it's something like how your computer is set up (Mel you're going out with someone who does IT, why are you asking here )

[cara.mel]

I think it's something like how your computer is set up (Mel you're going out with someone who does IT, why are you asking here )

Because he said he'd fix it when he next saw my computer and I want it fixed before then so I want to understand what this system restore thing is or why I should do it

[ell]

Whats a configuration?

Mm yeah essentially how your computer is set up. A system restore is like an "undo" function, it goes back and restores the last known working set up of your computer.

e.g. if it something went wrong with your computer after installing some software/updating a driver, you can use system restore to go back in time to make your computer how it was before installing/updating etc.

[AppleThief]

Whats a configuration?

Mm yeah essentially how your computer is set up. A system restore is like an "undo" function, it goes back and restores the last known working set up of your computer.

e.g. if it something went wrong with your computer after installing some software/updating a driver, you can use system restore to go back in time to make your computer how it was before installing/updating etc.

Can't you just re-install/update the driver, and avoid the system restore?

[ell]

Can't you just re-install/update the driver, and avoid the system restore?

Of course you can Each case is different, I simply gave an example above. Sometimes you don't know specifically what's changed on your computer, which is where a system restore may come in handy.

[cara.mel]

Where do I find driver from, what would I be looking for

Mm yeah essentially how your computer is set up. A system restore is like an "undo" function, it goes back and restores the last known working set up of your computer.

If your computer wasn't working, how could you get to system restore. How do you know it's 'not working', and when that happened?

[AppleThief]

Where do I find driver from, what would I be looking for

Um, If you tell us the model of your notebook (Inspiron ________ ?) we could try to find it. Or just google your notebook model + trackpad/mouse driver. I think that would work...

[cara.mel]

My brother was doing stuff to it to Make It Go Faster
which has made it go from typing in password -> being usable about 2x faster


Edit because of ahmad's help:
Computer is Dell inspiron 1520 and it came with vista on it

[ell]

Dell Touchpad Driver

If your computer wasn't working, how could you get to system restore. How do you know it's 'not working', and when that happened?

These are questions you should be asking yourself - when did your first notice the scroll function stop working? You'll want to restore back to before that point. I might add that doing a system restore should be the last resort.

[ninwa]

If your computer wasn't working, how could you get to system restore. How do you know it's 'not working', and when that happened?

I THINK one way of doing it is to press F8 repeatedly when you first turn your computer on, start computer in safe mode and do a system restore from there (that's how I did it once anyway when I did something funny to my laptop and it went AWOL on me)

When did your brother tweak your computer? I would do a system restore to a date JUST before that day.

[cara.mel]

Dell Touchpad Driver

If your computer wasn't working, how could you get to system restore. How do you know it's 'not working', and when that happened?

These are questions you should be asking yourself - when did your first notice the scroll function stop working? You'll want to restore back to before that point. I might add that doing a system restore should be the last resort.

Thank you, the link worked

Problem resolved, but now I want to learn about this system restore
Firstly, how can you define any set up to be 'working', etc
What exactly are these set ups
Would system restore have installed that program?
If it is a last resort, why were people recommending I do it as the first thing to do =/ what do you do before then

[ell]

Thank you, the link worked

Ah, good to know it works now

Problem resolved, but now I want to learn about this system restore
Firstly, how can you define any set up to be 'working', etc
What exactly are these set ups
Would system restore have installed that program?
If it is a last resort, why were people recommending I do it =/ what do you do before then

Only the user can really define if a computer is working or not - if something's not working how it usually does, e.g. in your case the scroll on the trackpad stopped working.

How your computer is 'set up' is basically the combination of the computer's settings, all the installed drivers, software etc. The way I described it is a bit ambigous lol, but I don't know how else to put it, sorry.

System Restore is a bit (emphasise a bit) like wiping the slate clean and starting over.
An exaggerated analogy is formatting your computer if you have a problem. You would try fix the problem first rather than just formatting straight away. This is why it's a last resort - you don't really want to alter your computer too much unless you really have to.